How To Brine A Whole Chicken For Grilling

When it comes to grilling chicken, I have tips on preparing and how to brine a whole chicken for grilling.

I’m sharing a step-by-step process of brining a chicken for grilling.

How To Brine Chicken For Grilling

Have you ever roasted a chicken that was as dry as a sun-baked riverbed?

It happens, but brining is a surefire way to ensure your roasted, baked, or grilled chicken is juicy and flavorful.

And the cool thing about brining is you can do it with chicken pieces or a whole chicken.

Why Should You Brine Chicken For Grilling

I’m sharing a step-by-step process of how to grill an entire chicken.

Since the chicken will spend a significant amount of time on the grill, brining is a great way to help the chicken retain moisture and prevent it from drying out.

But brining is also a way to add deep flavor too. The base of any brine is salt, sugar, and water, but feel free to add ingredients like lemon slices, cinnamon sticks, thyme, rosemary, brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or whole peppercorns.

I start with equal parts of salt and sugar for this brining recipe.

I brined this whole chicken overnight in the fridge, but if you don’t have that much time, 2-4 hours will do just fine.

After brining, give the chicken a thorough rinse with cool water, then pat it down with paper towels to get rid of any moisture.

Next, I trussed the chicken with kitchen twine to ensure the chicken cooks evenly.

When you remove the excess water, brush or rub the skin with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and two tablespoons of melted unsalted butter.

It will produce crispy skin and ensure that your chicken is golden brown.

I also stuffed a half stick of butter into the chicken’s cavity, garlic, and half of a large lemon cut in two.

Adding fresh lemon and 8-10 garlic cloves into the cavity and lemon will add lots of savory flavor to the brined chicken.

After seasoning the whole chicken, I sat it on top of a bed of sliced sweet onions inside of a cast iron skillet.

I placed the chicken on the Weber Master Touch Grill, hovering between 450 and 475 degrees.

I grilled the chicken for 60 minutes, then added more charcoal.

In total, I used about 90-100 charcoal briquettes. After closing the lid, I cooked the chicken for 30 minutes more,  for a combined 90 minutes.

When the time elapsed, I took an internal temperature reading of 165 degrees at the thickest area of the thigh to avoid touching the bone.

Allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes, then carve and serve.

Pro-tip: If you use wood chips to add a richer smoky flavor to your chicken, make sure to soak the wood for 25-30 minutes.

And before adding them to the hot coals. 

How to brine a whole chicken

Ingredients:

• One whole chicken 4-5 lbs
• 1/4 cup sea salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 8 cups of cold water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 lemon cut in half
• 1/2 stick of unsalted butter plus two tablespoons of melted butter
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup chicken rub seasoning
• 2 tablespoon flaky sea salt
• 8-10 cloves of smashed garlic cloves

Directions:

1. Get the charcoal briquettes going in the Weber Rapid Fire Charcoal Starter. {this is a must-have for grilling}
2. When the coals are hot, place this around the outside of the grate, we are cooking the chicken with mostly indirect heat.
3. Close the lid to allow the temperature to get to 4500-475 degrees.
4. Add water and sea salt, sugar, and fresh lemon juice to a large bowl.
5. Submerge the whole chicken into the brine and brine for 2-4 hours or overnight.
6. After brining, rinse the whole chicken with cold water and pat dry using a paper towel.
7. Stuff the chicken with 1/2 stick of butter, half a lemon, and 8-19 cloves of smashed garlic.
8. Truss your chicken to ensure it cooks evenly
9. Brush or rub the chicken all over with a mixture of olive oil and melted butter.
10. Slice a large onion and place the slices in the bottom of a large cast-iron skillet.
11. Place the chicken on top of the onions, then place the skillet in the center of the grate.
12. Close the lid and cook the chicken for an hour.
13. Open the lid and baste the chicken with a brush with more of the olive oil and melted butter mixture as needed.
14. Close the lid and continue to cook for an additional 30 minutes, but check for doneness every 10-15 minutes.
15. Check the temperature using an instant-read thermometer. We’re looking for a temp of 165 on the thickest part of the chicken thigh but not touching the bone.
16. When the chicken is done, use the oven mitts to safely remove the hot skillet,  then transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board and allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes.
17. Carve the chicken and serve.

It was grilled to perfection! 

Summer is the season of grilling, and with my grill, I’m ready for summer cookouts and grilling all season long! 

What have you grilled lately? 

Is it good to brine chicken before grilling?

Brining before grilling locks in moisture and flavor. It is a double whammy in terms of the best chicken you will ever have. This whole chicken is one that will taste better than any other chicken you have had. 

What happens if you don’t Truss chicken?

So if you don’t truss the chicken it can add too much heat that circulates in the cavity of the chicken, an lead the chicken breast and more to not cook properly. Also your legs and wings can overcook. It is a must follow rule if you want to serve up a flavorful and moist chicken. 

Does brining chicken make it salty?

Many think when you brine it causes the food to be salty. It in fact does not make the chicken salty. Brining is just a way to enhance the flavor of the chicken or turkey and it also locks in moisture. No more dry meat. 

Is sugar necessary in brine?

Sugar is needed as it is a flavoring enhancer but it also helps brown the chicken meat during the process of grilling. So yes, don’t skip out on the sugar in the recipe. 

Why do you truss chicken? 

Trussing chicken is where you use a baker twine to tie up the legs and wings. This is one to help prevent the wings an legs from burning during the cooking process. Trussing also helps less hot air circulate in the cavity of the chicken, so it won’t overcook the chicken. 

Find more recipes to grill below:

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How To Brine A Whole Chicken For Grilling

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Servings: 0

Author: This Worthey Life

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Ingredients

 

1x2x3x4x5x

• One whole chicken 4-5 lbs
• 1/4 cup sea salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 8 cups of cold water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 lemon cut in half
• 1/2 stick of unsalted butter plus two tablespoons of melted butter
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup chicken rub seasoning
• 2 tablespoon flaky sea salt
• 8-10 cloves of smashed garlic cloves

Instructions

• Get the charcoal briquettes going in the Weber Rapid Fire Charcoal Starter. {this is a must-have for grilling}
  When the coals are hot, place this around the outside of the grate, we are cooking the chicken with mostly indirect heat.
  Close the lid to allow the temperature to get to 4500-475 degrees.
  Add water, sea salt, sugar, and fresh lemon juice to a large bowl.
  Submerge the whole chicken into the brine and brine for 2-4 hours or overnight.
  After brining, rinse the whole chicken with cold water and pat dry using a paper towel.
  Stuff the chicken with 1/2 stick of butter, half a lemon, and 8-19 cloves of smashed garlic.
  Truss your chicken to ensure it cooks evenly
  Brush or rub the chicken all over with a mixture of olive oil and melted butter.
  Slice a large onion and place the slices in the bottom of a large cast-iron skillet.
  Place the chicken on top of the onions, then place the skillet in the center of the grate.
  Close the lid and cook the chicken for an hour.
  Open the lid and baste the chicken with a brush with more of the olive oil and melted butter mixture as needed.
  Close the lid and continue to cook for an additional 30 minutes, but check for doneness every 10-15 minutes.
  Check the temperature using an instant-read thermometer. We're looking for a temp of 165 on the thickest part of the chicken thigh but not touching the bone.
  When the chicken is done, use the oven mitts to safely remove the hot skillet,  then transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board and allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes.
  Carve the chicken and serve.

Tried this recipe?Mention @thiswortheylife or tag #thiswortheylife!

This is a previous post sponsored by Weber Grill.